Space Champagne—Champagne for Drinking in Space—Exists

No human has been on the moon since 1972. Maybe because it’s a long flight there, and alcohol doesn’t travel well on spaceships? Thankfully, some very prescient boozy brands have been hard at work trying to fill this void. Earlier this year, an Australian brewery launched a crowdfunding campaign to complete work on a beer bottle that can be drank from in space. But for those who’d rather drink bubbly than a Bud (another brand that has committed to interplanetary travel), the Champagne producer Maison Mumm has promised they’ll be unveiling a Champagne bottle built for space drinking.

Set to be launched this September, Mumm Grand Cordon Stellar is billed as “a groundbreaking feat of technology that makes it possible for astronauts and other space travelers to enjoy Champagne in the challenging surroundings of zero gravity.”

Of course, that’s easier said than science-d. However, Mumm states that the new bottle is the result of a three-year partnership with a design startup focused specifically on objects for use in space called Spade. “Instead of seeing zero gravity as a problem to be solved, we look at it as a design possibility,” Spade founder Octave de Gaulle said. “The big design challenge for Mumm Grand Cordon Stellar was actually getting the liquid out of the bottle.”

To solve that issue, the zero-gravity bottle apparently utilizes the Champagne’s own natural gas “to expel the liquid into a ring-shaped frame, where it is concentrated into a droplet of bubbles” that “can then be passed to someone and released into the air, where it floats until gathered up in a specially designed glass,” Mumm explains.

If that sounds strange, the explanation gets even weirder. Apparently, those “droplets” have the look of “an effervescent ball of foam” until it goes into the drinker’s mouth where it then returns to more of a liquid form. “It's a very surprising feeling,” Mumm's Cellar Master Didier Mariotti said. “Because of zero gravity, the liquid instantly coats the entire inside of the mouth, magnifying the taste sensations. There's less fizziness and more roundness and generosity, enabling the wine to express itself fully.”

Though the whole thing clearly has all the makings of a publicity stunt, Mumm suggests its new Grand Cordon Stellar “should soon be served to participants in the zero gravity flights organized by Air Zero G, while discussions are in progress to supply it to future space missions and commercial space flights.” And let’s be honest, if you have commercial space flight money, you’re likely used to drinking a lot of Champagne… so this is could be the innovation you’ve been waiting for.

You May Like

Read More

Sign Up for Our Newsletter

Keeping you in the know on all the latest & greatest food and travel news, and other special offers.